Climate Report WMO: “Negative trend may continue into 2060, regardless of climate mitigation” | outside

“The negative trend into the 1960s is likely to continue, regardless of success in reducing global warming,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. The past eight years have been the warmest on record, with temperatures in 2022 being 1.15 degrees Celsius warmer than the average for the 1850s through the 20th century. Glaciers in Europe were melting faster than ever, as was sea ice in Antarctica, while sea levels were at record levels. “All the indicators are negative,” Talas said bluntly.

Weather phenomena such as El Niño and La Niña have had a cooling effect over the past three years. But according to Talas, El Niño is heading towards a “neutral phase” that could be reached by the end of this year. “Depending on how long the El Niño phenomenon lasts, there is a possibility that the temperature record will be broken again next year,” Taalas continued. “Previous estimates suggest that in the event of a subsequent El Niño event, there is a 50 percent chance that the year-on-year temperature will temporarily rise above 1.5°C, which is the lower limit set out in the Paris Climate Agreement.”

The El Niño phenomenon is responsible for the periodic warming of ocean waters, resulting in global warming. La Niña does the opposite physically. Temporarily cools the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. This cooling is then linked to changes in the circulation of the tropical atmosphere, such as winds, pressure, and precipitation.

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